Mientkiewicz to manage Miracle

December 14, 2012

Major League veteran Doug Mientkiewicz has been named manager of the Fort Myers Miracle for the 2013 season by the team's parent Minnesota Twins organization.

Mientkiewicz, 38, began is baseball career as a draft pick of the Twins and played two seasons with the Miracle. He made his Major League debut in 1998 with the Twins. Most of his 1,087 games played in the big leagues were with the Twins before moving on to short stints with six other clubs, including the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Yankees and LA Dodgers.

"I'm excited to join the Minnesota organization and Fort Myers Miracle coaching staff," Mientkiewicz said in a team release. "I've always considered myself a Twin."

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Doug Mientkiewicz

Mientkiewicz, returns to Fort Myers from the Dodgers organization where he had been the hitting coach for the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League in 2012.

"We are looking forward to having Doug's leadership, hustle and passion with the Miracle for 2013," said Miracle general manager Andrew Seymour. "He brought so much energy to Hammond Stadium when he played here."

Mientkiewicz, a career .271 hitter, was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft and made his Miracle debut that year. Mientkiewicz appeared in 171 games in 1995 and 1996.

"I began my professional baseball career in Fort Myers," said Mientkiewicz, a Gold Glove winner in 2001 as a first baseman. "Now, I'm excited to start my managing career with the Miracle. We are going to hustle on and off the field and bring an exciting brand of baseball to the fans."

Mientkiewicz played high school baseball at Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay (Fla.) and three seasons with the Florida State Seminoles before turning pro.

Jim Dwyer, 62, returns for his eighth season as hitting coach with the Miracle and 17th year in the Twins organization.